Turns out, Bill Walton was right — the Pac-12 really is the best conference in the country. <\/p>\n
Of course, he meant it about the men, sure — and he might still be right in that regard — but let’s be clear: that distinction belongs to the women, too. <\/p>\n
Monday night, third-seeded Arizona clinched its first women’s Final Four berth with a 66-53 win over fourth-seeded Indiana. By punching its ticket, Arizona becomes the fourth Pac-12 school in the last five years to reach college basketball’s promised land for the first time, joining Oregon (2019) Oregon State (2016) and Washington (2016). California went in 2013. <\/p>\n
Stanford, meanwhile, has gone 13 times, including five in a row from 2008-2012. The Cardinal plays for its 14th trip Tuesday when it meets Louisville in the Elite Eight. <\/p>\n
Arizona coach Adia Barnes has long been familiar with what Walton calls “The Conference of Champions.” She played at Arizona from 1994-98 and worked as an assistant at Washington from 2011 to 2016 (helping the Huskies to the 2016 Final Four) before heading to the desert to lead her alma mater.<\/p>\n
Multiple people told her it was a bad job and she shouldn’t take it. Instead, she trusted her gut and took a chance. Then she surrounded herself with a group of athletes — led by Pac-12 player of the year Aari McDonald — who believed in what she sold. The result is another week in San Antonio and a chance to play for the national championship. <\/p>\n
“The Pac-12 is doing awesome!” said Stanford coach Tara VanDeerver after her team’s Sweet 16 win. “I think the West Coast is representing really well. And I’m really excited about how the Pac-12 is doing in both men’s and women’s basketball.”<\/p>\n
The last few seasons, the Pac-12 widely was considered the top conference in women’s basketball. Before the postseason was canceled last year, Oregon and triple-double record-setter Sabrina Ionescu were a popular pick to win the 2020 national championship. The conference has built itself into a powerhouse by doing a few things correctly. <\/p>\n
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